S Korea flail, Taiwan at ease in Thomas Cup

Hwang Jong-soo won the decisive fifth match to steer South Korea to a 3-2 win over a stubborn Germany on the opening day of the Thomas Cup badminton team championships in New Delhi on Sunday.

South Korea — runners-up to China in the event’s previous edition in 2012 — were facing an embarrassing setback when Germany made it 2-2 by winning the first two singles in between two defeats in the doubles.

However, Hwang kept his cool amid rising tension in the South Korea camp to defeat Lukas Schmidt 21-15, 21-16 in the decider and clinch an important win for his team in Group C.

Germany’s top player, Marc Zwiebler, said his team’s focus had been on the singles since South Korea are so strong in doubles.

“We knew from the start that we had to win all three singles to beat them, but this tie has raised our confidence and I hope we will do well in our remaining matches,” he said.

In Group D, Taiwan beat Russia 4-1, with Chou Tien-chen’s 21-18, 21-17 defeat to Vladimir Ivanov the only blemish on the Taiwanese side’s record.